


The Greatest Trick

by fairy_tale_echo



Category: Social Network (2010)
Genre: AU, Deal With the Devil, Literary Inspired, M/M, Reconciliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-08
Updated: 2012-01-08
Packaged: 2017-10-29 05:37:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/316388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairy_tale_echo/pseuds/fairy_tale_echo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mark makes a deal with the Devil for everything he ever wanted ... but when the Devil arrives to collect, he discovers he put up much more than just his soul.</p><p>(or: <i>What would you trade for the thing you want most?</i>)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Greatest Trick

_The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist._

++

The night everything changed, the night Mark met her, started off like any ordinary Friday night.

He was stumbling back to Kirkland after the first AEPi party of sophomore year. It was September and he could already feel this year was going to suck. He had no idea what he was going to do to get into a Final Club and instead of doing anything cool or even productive with his Friday night he had wasted it at another completely pathetic AEPi mixer and Eduardo was back there with yet another girl he'd charmed with weather stories so Mark's stumbling back to Kirkland, a little tipsy maybe, alone. (and who the fuck can charm women with _weather stories_?!)

He was angry, yeah, and he was frustrated, yeah. But what he remembers the most is the _wanting_. Almost to Kirkland, the middle of that September night that's the one thing Mark's sure of: he _wanted_. He wanted so much, so hard, he couldn't even begin to name it all, he couldn't even think of something to wish for. He just _wanted it all_.

He felt a sudden cold rush of air, too cold for September and the unexpected burst of air was enough to make him finally trip over his own damn feet and fall to the ground. He mentally cursed Wardo. If he'd been there beside him, if they'd had their arms slung around each other, doing their usual drunk shuffle, Mark would never have found himself sprawled on the cold concrete, hearing a girl's sharp, high laughter echo above him.

++

When he looked up the first thing he saw were the red soles of a pair of what looked like very high heels. He had to blink twice to see the girl wearing them because, for a split second, it was like she was shimmering in the air. Whoa, he must be drunker than he thought.

She was sitting on a low wall right across from the sidewalk and Mark had a few seconds to think how weird it was that he hadn't noticed her there before, but he had been sort of watching his feet as he shuffled along, so he must have missed her. Besides, she was sitting on the wall at the precise spot where two sidewalks crossed and Mark had only eyes for the side he'd been walking on. So maybe he'd missed her while she leaned on the other side of the wall.

Now, though, Mark could see her clearly, swinging her legs and laughing. She was wearing a short black skirt that barely grazed her knees and sparkly red top. She had platinum blonde hair cut into a very short almost boyish cut. (Mark vaguely knew this haircut had [a cute name](http://www.google.com/search?q=pixie+cut&hl=en&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=qe7ITYrLGoGgsQOIj9WPAw&ved=0CFQQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=619) and it was considered daring, just like he sorta knew that [the red soles of her heels](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Louboutin#Shoes) meant something culturally too. But those were boring details that took up brain space and besides that's why he was best friends with Wardo, so _he_ could take care of stuff like that.) He couldn't see her eyes in the dark but he could hear her laughter as bright as day.

"Graceful," she giggles as Mark scrambles to stand up.

"Like it's any of your business," he snaps.

"Laughing at people falling down is the whole _world's_ business, wouldn't you say, Mark?"

The fuck? How does she know his name?

"I sat three rows behind you freshman year in [Expos 20](http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k24101&tabgroupid=icb.tabgroup35039). Of course you don't remember," she answers the question he hasn't even asked yet casually.

And, sure, he does barely remember Expos 20 so that seems right. "Sure, I remember," he lies. "You're, um, uh, you're -"

"Lilith," she supplies, cutting off his fumbling lie. And then she gives him a wide, open-mouthed grin, showing off all her teeth. For a drunken second it seems like she has _too many_ teeth but when Mark blinks again the second has passed and she's just smiling.

"Lilith," he repeats.

She nods.

++

"So, whatcha up to tonight, Mark?" She asks casually.

Mark's picked himself up and is glaring at her. There's something about her that's setting his teeth on edge, her tone of voice maybe. But there's something about her that feels ... _off_. He's probably just drunker than he realized.

"Oh, you know, the usual. Just sitting on a wall in the middle of the night gawking at people who trip. Nothing weird about that."

She laughs again; this one is another big belly laugh. "It's not quite the middle of the night. Your timing's off. It's _almost_ midnight."

"Um, OK.  Regardless, it's too late for this watered-down semi-banter, so what's the difference?" he shrugs and decides this is a colossal waste of his time. He stuffs his hands back in the front pocket of his hoodie and turns to continue the walk to Kirkland.

Lilith's voice stops him in his tracks. "Oh, you know what they say, Mark. Make the right wish at midnight at the right place to the right person and it just might come true."

 _Just keep walking_ a little voice in his head whispers. But an even louder voice wants to know what the hell this crazy girl is talking about. So he stops and turns back to face her.

But all he has to say is somewhat inelegant. "What?"

"You know, meet a stranger at a crossroads," she pointed to where she sat. "at midnight," she pointed up to the sky. "Promise them the right thing and they can make all your dreams come true."

"You're ... not a stranger," is all he manages.

"Aren't I?" There's that almost too-toothy grin again.

"And what's the right thing, anyway?" Mark scoffs, ignoring how the hair on the back of his neck is standing up.

"Oh, surely you know the story well enough to know that part," she teases.

Yeah, of course Mark does. Everyone does. Meet a stranger at a crossroad at midnight and if you _want_ something, if you want something _badly enough_ , you'll promise them the right thing, _your soul,_ to get it.

And Mark? Mark still _wants_. He wants final clubs, guys from finals clubs to come begging him for favors, that BU girl he met at The Thirsty Scholar last week to call him, people to read his LJ at all hours of the night and marvel at him, CourseMatch to be so popular it crashes the Harvard servers. He _wants_ all those impossible things.

And he wants _more_ than that. He wants things even bigger, more secret than all that stuff, that’s the stuff most people can tell he wants after five minutes of conversation with him.

The secret thing Mark wants more than anything else? He wants to do something that will _change the world_ , he wants to create, himself, something so big and radical and different it'll be worthy of one of his favorite Ancient Greek sagas. And even more secret than that?

He wants - he wants - _he wants Wardo_.

++

"Time's a-wasting, Mark," Lilith's sing-song voice breaks through his thoughts.

"Whatever," he says, snapping out of his useless reverie. "This is ridiculous shit anyway, so -"

"So then what can it hurt?"

"Fine," he quickly retorts. "Fine.  If this were real, you’d be able to, like, read my thoughts, which would mean you already know everything I want. I want all that. I want success beyond my wildest dreams and," Mark pauses, yanks his hands out of his pocket and waves them in front of his face, wiggling his fingers. "And for this...I'll trade you the thing I value most in this wooooorld!" He draws the _oooooo_ in world out dramatically. That seems much easier to say than instead of _my mortal soul_. Not that he believes that this girl from his Expos 20 class has some kind of mystical power to make everything you want come true _or_ even in the concept of, like, souls being damned to some fictional afterlife or whatever? But it still feels kinda weird to say _my mortal soul_ and besides isn't "the thing I value most in the world" way more worthy than his soul - a thing he's not even sure exists?

Though he didn't think it was possible, Lilith's smile gets even wider. "How _perfectly_ delicious!" She crows with glee, clapping her hands together once.

Then Lilith swings her legs over the side of the wall and drops down to the ground on the other side.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Mark," she calls over her shoulder as she walks into the darkness. "We'll meet again soon. And good luck!"

In that second, Mark feels a jolt run through him, a sharp tingle from his head to his toes. And Lilith seems to have totally vanished, he can’t even see her anymore.  Which is ... completely impossible and a figment of his drunken imagination.

Just like everything that's just happened, actually. He's let himself be psyched out by some headcase from his English class who wanted to fuck with him on a Friday night because she came back from the club all dressed up and alone.

 _Stupid sucker, no wonder Wardo wanted to stay and tell that girl about cumulonimbus clouds, you're such a stupid sucker_ , he chastises himself all the way back to Kirkland, where he drops in his bed with all his clothes on. Right before he falls into a deep, dreamless sleep he decides not only will he never mention this to anyone but he'll never think about it again _at all_.

The next morning his phone's loud ringing pulls him from sleep.

It's the BU girl from The Thirsty Scholar, apologizing for taking so long to call him back, saying she'd lost his number but then last night the napkin it was on just turned up, as if by magic.

Her name is Erica and she wants to go out.

++

Mark doesn't think about Lilith when Erica calls. He doesn't think about Lilith when he starts dating Erica and it's nice enough to have a girlfriend and he doesn't quite have an idea for the Final Clubs yet, but he's sure he will. Why would he think of Lilith? What does some crazy girl from his Expos 20 class have to do with anything? He's almost succeeded in convincing himself that whole night with Lilith was some drunken dream, that maybe he ran into her and she laughed but the rest of it? Nah.

Mark _really_ has almost entirely forgotten about Lilith. Until the night Erica breaks up with him. Until the night he comes back to Kirkland and starts hacking. Until the night Wardo slides over to him, and says, voice full of concern and conviction, _I'm here for you_.

It's right then that Mark realizes, for the very first time, that if he wants Wardo? He can have him.

And that's the moment, the scariest moment of all, because that's the moment he starts to think maybe Lilith ... maybe that was _real_.

++

Dustin passed out on the couch, his body slumped over in a weird position he'll pay for tomorrow. After the fifteenth time Dustin refreshed and shouted _Still crashed, bitches!_ Chris retreated to his room, shutting the door firmly and trying to suppress laughter. "Hey," he told Mark before leaving the vigil over the computer. "there's gonna be fallout from this, you know. So, if you need help with phrasing or anything, lemme know."

And Mark knows that Chris is right.  There _is_ going to be fallout because this? This is the start of something _big_ , he knows it, and he feels it all the way down to his fingertips.

He feels it when he stares at Wardo, who's still as wide awake as Mark, and who is currently standing in front of his equation, gazing at his handiwork on the window with a disbelieving look on his face.

Something _big_ , something that makes his skin tingle with anticipation. It's not just FaceMash, the crashed servers, it's Lilith. It's the way she'd said _nice doing business with you_ , the way Mark had laughed and told her _I want all that_ and meant for _that_ to include Wardo.

He wants Wardo.

He's wanted him for so long he doesn't remember when it started. Right after they first met? The first time Mark saw him turn the full force of his charm on some undeserving, simpering girl who didn't appreciate it? The first time Wardo had casually placed his hand on the small of his back and led him to the dining hall, chiding him for not eating in two days?

He's wanted him but never thought, never really thought, he could have him. But if Lilith was _real_ ... if that _happened_? If he actually traded his _soul_ for all those things he had been wanting so badly that he'd _called the Devil_?

He might as well make the best of the deal and get what he wants.

++

He stands up from his desk (network _still_ down: three hours and twenty four minutes and counting) and crosses with two big steps to where Wardo's standing.

"Hey," he says quietly. "Look at all the trouble your equation caused."

Wardo shakes his head. "No, no," he protests automatically. " _You_ did this! I just -"

"Kidding, Wardo, just kidding. This is gonna be something great."

And it is. Mark knows that's true. There's gonna be fallout but there's also gonna be results. Things are changing. He's made them change. The things he wants - they might not be so impossible anymore.

So that's when Mark does something he's never been brave enough to do before. He reaches out and wraps his hand around the back of Wardo's neck, squeezing lightly. When it's Wardo reaching out and touching him, this kind of casual touch is commonplace. But Mark's never done the reverse and he feels Wardo jump slightly under his touch. He turns his head to look at Mark and he still seems dazed.

"But I couldn't have done it without you," Mark whispers, holding Wardo's gaze, watching his eyes go wide.

"Mark? What are you -" Wardo sounds breathless and fuck, Mark _likes_ that, it sends a shiver up his spine.

"Didn't you say you were _here_ for me?" Mark barely recognizes his own tone: playful and teasing.

"Mark?" Wardo echoes, his voice tremulous.

But Mark doesn't say anything; he just hauls Wardo forward, holding onto his neck, watching as his mouth falls open in shock.

It's maybe the hottest thing Mark's ever seen.

He pulls Wardo down for a kiss And Mark takes a few seconds to savor this moment; this last moment before their mouths will meet. He just breathes in Wardo, in how this is _actually_ going to happen. In the close quiet of this endless second he hears Wardo murmur, "So long - I've been waiting so _fucking_ long for this."

And then they are kissing: Wardo's equation behind them on the window and his hands pulling Mark close - they are kissing, open-mouthed, dirty, and frantic.

" _This,_ " Mark thinks, his heart racing as Wardo slides a hand under Mark's hoodie and then his shirt, as Mark returns the favor and slides a hand down Wardo's pants, _"was worth a deal with the devil._

++

The next morning Dustin bursts into Mark's room shouting, "It's all over the fucking place, Mark. It's huge! It's the ad board for sure you'll have to-"

Wardo shakes off Mark, rolls over, and picks a shoe up off the floor, tossing it at Dustin's head. Then he falls back into Mark's small, twin bed.

"Too fucking early," Mark mumbles, trying to burrow back into Wardo's arms.

"Holy _fuck_!" Dustin shouts, stumbling out and slamming the door. Mark hears Dustin shrieking on the other side of the door. "Chris! Mark and Wardo did the no-no! They're naked in bed together! You owe me $50!"

Wardo laughs and presses a kiss to the top of Mark's head. "Morning," he whispers, his voice low and sweet.

Mark feels pretty unbelievably good considering he doesn't have a soul anymore.

++

After that, it's a blur.

There's the Winklevoss twins and then the great idea - the _big_ idea. The minute the idea hits him, rolls over him like electricity, Mark knows that THIS is the idea that's gonna change the world..

And bit by bit, as thefacebook unfolds in his brain, lines of code and design, he knows one thing: it was so fucking worth it.

The other part of the deal? That's worth it too.

It's a blur of Wardo shyly reaching out and holding his hand during movies on the couch, of Wardo looking at him with a blessed out, satisfied wonder. It's a blur of Wardo pulling him out of coding for thefacebook and kissing the back of his neck, whispering into his ear, _"C'mon, Mark, the code can wait, let's get some food and ... and ..."_ he swallows hard, blushes, _"and fuck."_

Mark drops the marker and turns around without a second's hesitation.

++

Wardo's punched by the Phoenix. Mark doesn't really care. Well, he cares because that's cool enough for Wardo, he guesses, but Final Clubs? That's not where he's at anymore. Mark meant what he said that cold night outside the AEPi party; what he's going to create with thefacebook is going to make Final Clubs look like childhood bullshit. He'll make the Winklevoss twins and Divya beg _him_ for acceptance, he'll change the world.

He _knows_ this will happen now, because he sold his soul to the Devil for the certainty of this outcome. (The Devil as a delicate blonde girl in very high heels, yeah, but the Devil none-the-less.) As everything Mark wanted happens, he's now convinced that Lilith was real. Mark Zuckerberg sold his soul to the Devil at the crossroads at midnight, so he might as well take advantage of his end of the deal.

Besides, the Phoenix's not a huge deal to Wardo either. He ducks out of as many Phoenix events as he can to spend more time with Mark.

"What about the Phoenix?" Mark teases one night after Wardo's left a party early and the two of them are making out in Wardo's bed.

"Whatever," Wardo says as he kisses a trail down Mark's stomach. "It'll look good on my resume and help us make contacts. I'm hanging in there . . . but I'd much rather be here."

Mark sighs and agrees. Who cares about Final Clubs?

++

The site goes live.

They use Wardo's contact list from the Phoenix to spread the link and it takes less than three hours for over 100 people to sign up ... and the numbers just keep growing.

"Holy shit," Dustin exhales, watching their numbers climb minute by minute.

It's starting - it's happening - _Wardo smiles_ \- it's real.

++

It's past 2 AM when Mark is walking back to Kirkland from Wardo's room. He might be a little delirious.

The last user count was 431.

 _"400 in a matter of hours," Wardo says, his voice shocked. "Mark, if it keeps up at this pace - this is – we’ll -"_

 _"I know," Mark answers, pulling him close for a kiss. "I know."_

So, OK, Mark's more than a _little_ delirious. And why wouldn't he be? It's a perfect confluence of everything he’s ever wanted and worked for: thefacebook, his very own creation, is about to take off in a way and at a pace even Mark wasn't prepared for and he's got Wardo, _got_ Wardo, who'll be by his side (and in his bed) the whole way.

Delirious, yeah, with excitement and anticipation and amazement.

That's why he thinks it's hardly his fault when he trips over his own feet in surprise at the sound of Lilith's voice.

"Like the deal so far, Mark?"

++

When Mark recovered and spun around to see her, he wasn't surprised to find see in the same outfit as before, sitting in the branches of a tree. This alone was proof to Mark that she was actually the Devil. No human alive could climb a tree in six inch stiletto heels.

"You - you -"

"Yes, Mark," her voice is breathy and giggly. "I'm not just a girl you never paid attention to from Expos 20, very clever. Now that you've accepted I am who I say I am, I don't have to pretend anymore."

"Why did you have to pretend at all?"

She rolls her eyes. "You mean why didn't I look like all the stories say? For one thing, Louboutins are way more uncomfortable than cloven feet but at least they're stylish. For another, I'm not always what the stories say, you know."

Now Mark wants to roll _his_ eyes. "Like I care how you look. I meant why you couldn't just say you were - why you had to lie."

She sighs. "How can you be so brilliant and so naive at the same time? Think about it, Mark."

Of course. "You have to let _me_ choose. Because it has to be fair."

She nods, appreciatively. "I can only tempt you with the possibility. _You_ have to make the choice, the deal. And so you did, Mark! Congratulations, how's it working out for you?"

"I - you already know the answer to that. So," he shrugs, trying to look nonchalant, "what are you here for?"

"Isn't it obvious?" She smiles and, even though she's several feet above him, Mark can _see_ her smile in the dark and this time, this time, Mark knows he's not imagining it when he sees that her teeth are too sharp. "I'm here for my end of the deal."

++

"No - it's not time - you can't -" Mark stumbles, shakes his head.

"Well, it is somewhat sooner than I'd planned, that's true, but what I can say? I should have known how clever you were. You got to bliss quicker than I gave you credit for. Which means," she snapped her fingers once and disappeared from the tree branch, reappearing a split second later right in front of him, "it's time to make good."

Involuntarily, Mark stepped away from her.

"But this isn't - I haven't gotten everything I wanted yet, so you haven't fulfilled -" Mark realizes he's on the verge of babbling and is approaching incoherency.

Lilith's smile grows wider. "Haven't you? You came up with an idea that will change the world and you've had your Mr. Saverin look at you with love. Isn't that just what you wanted?"

"I wanted to see - I need a chance to - I have to make sure -" He knows he's grasping at straws, that he doesn't have a real answer.

Lilith laughs, her too sharp teeth sparkling in the moonlight, Lilith laughs.

"It's too soon for you to have my soul!" Mark blurts it out, loudly and frantically, and steps back from her too bright laugh. He's not going to try to run away because he's not a moron, but he has to say _something_ , he has to at least try.

At this, she stops laughing and cocks her head to the side, carefully considering him. "Your _soul_? You think I want your _soul_? How bourgeois. What would I do with that?"

"But that's what I traded - if you don't want my soul what -" Mark's genuinely surprised now and, yeah, maybe more than a little bit scared.

"You didn't trade your soul. Did anyone say soul? I don't remember anyone saying that word, do you?" She brought her lips together in a playful pout.

"No, but - then what?"

"What you said, exactly, was _the thing I value most in the wooooorld!!_ Don't you remember?" Her eyes were twinkling and, fuck, she was enjoying herself.

Of course he remembers but that was when, well, that was when he wasn't sure Lilith had been real. No, it wasn't that. He didn't want to lie to himself about that night anymore. He hadn't _cared_ if Lilith was real, fuck, he'd kind of suspected she might be: he'd just _wanted_.

But he'd _assumed_ that what he was trading was his soul and as he wasn't even sure he believed in that - what was the big deal? Besides, everyone knew that's what the trade was when you met the Devil at the crossroads at midnight. It _had_ to be your soul. What _else_ was worth anything? What _else_ could be worthy of the Devil striking a bargain, worthy of a deal this huge? What _else_ besides your soul could matter so much?

And, just like that, it all clicked into place, it all made sense. Mark knew the answer. Mark knew what was worth more than his soul. Mark knew what had called the Devil from hell. And, just as suddenly, with the memory of what had happened less than ten minutes ago, Mark knew why she was back _now_.

++

Mark wasn't spending the night because Wardo had an 8 AM exam, so they were reluctantly parting ways after checking the user count one last time. They were blissed out on the numbers and kissing goodnight when Wardo had pulled away, just a few inches, and looked at Mark with all that ridiculous adoration that always seemed to be in his eyes now. (Mark had a sneaking suspicion he looked back the same way.)

"Hey," Wardo said, sounding a little bit surprised. "I - I love you."

It was the first time he'd said it. Mark felt a wave of pure pleasure rush through him, making his skin tingle. He wasn't surprised at all by his response. "Yeah, I love you too."

His voice was firm. Wardo had given him what could only be classified as a radiant grin and leaned close for another kiss.

++

"No," Mark whispered back in the present moment, more to himself than to Lilith.

"See? I knew you were smart! I knew you'd figure it out," Lilith's voice is rich with delight.

"No, it can't be," Mark muttered.

"Yes, it really can. You got your world-changing idea, Mark; it's going to be bigger than you ever dreamed and it's _yours_. Now I'm here for what's _mine_. You're going to give up Eduardo Saverin."

The Devil smiled.

++

"But - but -" Mark feels dizzy. He needs to sit down. He needs to sit down and think this all through, approach it like a problem set, just be logical about it, just _think_ and he'll be able - then everything goes black and the ground is rushing up to meet him as he faints.

When he comes to, he's lying down on the low concrete wall where he first saw Lilith.

"What the fuck?"

Lilith, sitting next to him, waves. "You passed out. It was charming, really, hardly anyone faints when they get the news these days. Shows how much you care! Anyhow, I moved us back to where we first met, so you're closer to home, even. I'm quite thoughtful."

Mark sits up too quickly, feels the blood rush to his head. "I - you - this isn't what I meant at all.  You _tricked_ me."

Lilith laughs again, sounding like a carefree and flirty 18 year old girl. "No. No, _you_ set the terms, remember? _You_ said it. No tricking involved."

"But that isn't what I meant - I - I can't - how can I trade Eduardo's soul? That's not - _he_ didn't get a choice so you -" Mark knows he's just prattling on and it's all useless but he can't stop, he just _can't_.

"Now I know you're being deliberately dense. _Souls_ ," the word rolls off her tongue with disdain. "Who cares? I like things that _matter_ , things that _count_. I don't want _his_ soul any more than I want yours and that's not what I said, anyway. I said -"

"Give him up," Mark parrots her words back.

She nods, delighted.

Mark leans over the side of the wall and vomits.

++

"He'll _know_ ," Mark protests weakly. "He'll be suspicious and he'll know and that'll mess everything up which won't fulfill your end and -"

Lilith waves her hand and makes a dismissive noise. "You act as if I don't have a plan. Please, Mark, give a girl a little credit."

"No - I - you can take it back. Take thefacebook back. Make it fail. Ruin it, ruin everything, take my _soul_ , take anything - just don't - don't," he's gasping against the pain, against the shock of it all.

"Oh Mark," Lilith slides over so she's right next to him, looks at him with something that might be called pity if she were human. "Don't you get it yet? There's no going back. You made the deal which means...you'll do this or, well, I'll do something to your Mr. Saverin that will make him, that'll make you, _wish_ I'd taken his soul. And then I _will_ take his soul, just for funsies, just to make you watch."

Her eyes flash red in the dark and Mark knows, he knows, he doesn't have a choice. But it doesn't stop him from closing his eyes and whispering "No - no - no."

"Yessssss," Lilith hisses right in his ear. " _Yes_. And what I have planned is so much better than just breaking up with him. Breaking up? He could survive that, you could survive that. Maybe. Probably. But this? You're not going to break _up_ with him. You're going to break _him_."

++

"In the next few days you'll get a cease and desist letter from the Winklevoss twins and Divya Narendra. That's how this is all going to start..." Lilith's voice is low and confidential, teasing and playful, and she continues on, even though Mark still has his eyes squeezed shut and is now rocking back and forth.

The damnedest thing is - he can see how it will all happen. There's a certain logic to it. He can't be entirely sure that the whole thing wouldn't have unfolded this _exact_ way even if Lilith had never come along. Only - only -

"Yes," she says, reading his thoughts, her voice smooth as silk. "It _might_ have happened just like this. This was one way. But don't you see? Not only did I assure this is the _only_ way it can happen but I got you to be directly complicit in it. It’s enchanting, really. And, of course, I sweetened the deal by helping the two of you acknowledge your feelings. That probably wouldn’t have happened without me, which makes how I am about to ruin it so much _sweeter_."

Mark gasps and leans forward. He wants to throw up again but there's nothing left in his stomach and he's too scared to cry. He's afraid he's going to spend the rest of his life feeling this way.

"Just keep pulling away from him, bit by bit. It'll be easier than you think, with the speed your venture is going to take off at. In a few months time, you'll meet up with one of my favorite smooth talking representatives in New York City and he'll make all of this much easier."

Lilith stands up and pats Mark's shoulder, almost consolingly. He shrinks under the touch and finally opens his eyes to stare at her.

She is luminous and glittering in the moonlight. "I'll be watching, of course, and I'll be in touch with further instructions as the time warrants. Don't forget what's at stake here. I hope you're happy with our deal, Mark. I sure am."

Without waiting for a response, she snaps her fingers again and disappears. Mark is alone on the low wall at the crossroads, shuddering and gasping for air.

It's then the tears come.

++

" _This is our thing_ ," Wardo says, and Mark pulls away from him, leans back into the couch casually, closes his face up.

" _C'mon,"_ Mark whispers when Christy and Alice go to check their make-up. _"We've got groupies now, this will be hot."_

Wardo looks at him pleadingly, like he might cry. _"I don't want to be with these girls in the first place, I don't care about groupies, I just want to be with_ you _. We barely even touch anymore and now you want -_ "

Mark reaches out and squeezes his hand. _"Do this for me. Please.”_

Wardo nods.

++

Mark listens to Wardo come in the stall next to him and bites back tears.  Then he smiles at him triumphantly when it's over, knowing that Wardo thinks this is something they’ve shared, something that’s brought them closer, and he feels something inside him curling up and _dying_.

Mark doesn't just believe in the Devil anymore.

He _is_ the Devil.

++

Sean Parker is _not_ the Devil. He's too sloppy and too unorganized ... too unfocused. He _wants_ too much. Sean would probably be interested in people's souls.

Mark thinks a lot about the Devil these days. He's decided there's probably a lot of people who do her work and never even know it, not entirely. After that first dinner, with Wardo so angry at him he can feel it rolling off him in waves, with Wardo finally relaxing into Christy in a way he never has before, ( _What the fuck do I need a fake girlfriend for, Mark? Yeah, I know it looks good in the Phoenix. Yeah, I know it will make my father happy. Yeah, I know she has connections. But, she's - I don't - I want - I mean, if this is what_ you _think is best, if this is what_ you _want-_ ") Mark thinks that's what Sean is.

Either way, Lilith was right. He's just the wedge, just the thing, Mark needed.

He does make it easier.

++

They've only touched romantically once since the night they said _I love you_.

It was the night Wardo gave him the money for California, the night of the hackathon, the night they smiled at each other in the old way. _"Just this last time,"_ Mark had told himself, pulling a surprised Wardo into an embrace when they ended up back at Kirkland in the early morning hours.

It was frantic and bittersweet. _"I've missed you so much, querido,"_ Wardo murmured reverently in the curve of Mark's neck. _"I know we're busy and there's Christy and it's been overwhelming since that night we said - but I miss you so much, I need you, I need you, please, will you, I want to feel you inside me, please, I need – ”_

And Mark kissed him so hard he saw stars behind his eyes and couldn't bring himself to say anything back.

++

Eduardo is flying to New York City to start his internship and Mark is flying to California. They part on the other side of security.

Mark gives in and hugs Wardo. Without hesitation, Wardo wraps his arms around Mark and squeezes.

"It's going to be so amazing," Wardo says with complete conviction.

Mark knows this is the last moment of pure, uncomplicated love they'll ever share.

He lets go.

++

Lilith is sitting on the edge of his bed in Palo Alto, frowning.

"You're going to get left behind? I need you?" She tsk-tsks and shakes her finger at him. "Now Mark, don't tell me you're getting soft now, when we're so close?"

Mark sits straight up in bed. "You never said I couldn't -"

"You couldn't what? Warn him about what's happening? Yeah, actually, I'm pretty sure I said that _exact_ thing. "

"I can tell him how I feel. You didn't say I had to - to -"

"No, that's true. You are absolutely free to tell him how much you love him. It’s better, actually, if he thinks you love him.  You can even tell him you made a deal with the Devil and the cost was him. All this worldly success for him, wouldn't he like to hear that?  Tell him how much you love him as you shut him out of this company, while he suspects you've started fucking Sean Parker out of blind hero worship. That's what he thinks, Mark, did you know that?" Her eyes glimmer red in the half-light of his room and Mark must've let the pain show on his face, because she pounces on this moment of weakness.

Her voice is sharp as a knife. "Yeah. He thinks you let Sean Parker top, that you _prefer_ being fucked by him. Did you know that? He thinks that's why you've been pulling away from him since you met Sean, that you like being fucked by Sean Parker more than you ever liked fucking him. Isn't that cute? Isn't that sweet? He thinks you didn't like fucking him enough, that you needed to be -"

Mark sees red, the whole world goes red. He surges up from his bed and pushes her. She's startled, he can tell, she crashes onto the floor, sounding human as she hits the ground. "Shut your mouth! Shut your fucking mouth!" He screams, anguished.

She laughs, shows off her razor-sharp teeth. "Tell him whatever you want, Mark. Just remember your part in this deal. Remember what I'll do if you don't hold up your end."

In a flash, she's gone again.

++

He stares at himself in the mirror of the bathroom of the Facebook offices. Wardo's voice, broken, is echoing over and over in his ears.

 _You set me up._

It's done. He did it. Deal made, contract fulfilled. He hears the dull roar of a party outside the doors, he rubs his eyes. When he opens them there's a message written in lipstick on the mirror.

 _Good job, querido, but we're not done yet! ~L_

Mark throws up again.

++

It's the day the chicken comes up in the depositions that Mark decides he's going to break the deal.

That's the day Wardo looks at him like he's never looked at him before, through all the rest of it. That’s the day he says, his voice strangled, “ _That's not what friends do.”_ Friends. Did Wardo think maybe - maybe -

Mark's fulfilled his end of the deal by now, hasn't he? _Hasn't he?_ He lost the thing he valued the most in the world - he's burned every bridge between him and Wardo, thrown away what they had with both hands and sits across from him with a blank, empty face. Isn't that enough?

Mark decides it is. Mark decides the next day he'll settle. He'll settle and he'll apologize and he won't expect a single thing from Wardo but he'll _try_ \- he'll _try_.

++

"Morning," Sy says offhandedly the next morning.

Mark's feeling better than he has in years. "Hey, Sy. There's some things I need to talk to you about. _Very_ important."

Sy's shuffling through papers and doesn't look up to meet Mark's eyes. "Oh? All right, well, Ms. Delpy was unexpectedly sick this morning so another junior associate will be helping us today. Start with her while I review some of the new motions," Sy gestures at a woman in a neat black business suit who is standing next to Eduardo and Gretchen near the table where Sy's firm puts out coffee and bagels every morning.

Sy calls out to her as Mark walks towards them. "Ms. - um - sorry, I can't remember your name."

She turns and smiles, locking eyes with Mark. "[Samael](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samael). Lilith Samael."

++

Lilith is there all day. No one seems to notice anything significant or odd about her, but they _see_ her and they _talk_ to her and she's real to them. She behaves as if she's just another junior associate assisting with the depositions. Mark tries not to look at her, but he feels her gaze heavy on him all day. It makes his stomach clench up with fear and a throb of dread start behind his eyes.

When another grueling day of testimony finally concludes, Mark waits until everyone else has left. He knows he's meant to have a private conversation with her. He's staring out the conference room windows when he hears her voice.

"Like the object lesson, Mark?"

"I - I didn't -" he doesn't bother to turn around.

"I just wanted you to remember that I'm _real_. I'm not something you just made up and this isn't a deal you can just change your mind about. You didn't say you'd give me the thing you value most in the world for a little while. That's now how these deals work, Mark. I wanted you to remember, to see, that I'm _real_ and so is our contract and so is what I _will_ do if you don't hold up your end."

She's behind him now and she squeezes his shoulders. Her hands are like talons. "Besides, he'll never want you back, take you back, now. Don't you know that's the best part? Don't you know that's what this was _all_ about? It was about scorched earth, about you wanting so much you ruined what _really_ mattered. It was about _you_ doing it, doing what couldn't ever be undone."

Her voice was velvet-smooth, so pleased. Mark was fighting as hard as he could to not shake under her touch. "You never even cared that it took a deal with the Devil to get him to love you, to want you. And that was pretty special.  But ruining it? That was all _you_ , Mark."

He really had to stop doing this, he did. But with her hands on him, the faint sulfur smell that was enveloping him as she leaned close enough to brush her cheek with his, the delirious delight in her voice at the thought of his misery, Mark had no other choice.

He bent over and retched on the floor. When he stood up again, Lilith was gone.

++

Eduardo walks out of the conference room and Marilyn Delpy tells him they're going to settle the next day and Mark knows that'll be the last time he'll ever see Eduardo. Or - no. Lilith will probably make sure they run into each other every few months somehow or another. Just to make sure Mark's keeping up his end of the deal, just to make sure Mark doesn’t ever try anything, just to savor another taste of his despair and self-loathing. Yes, that seems just like what she'd do.

It's all over. It will never be over.

++

He signs the settlement papers. He has the driver take him back to Facebook headquarters and he walks past the stares of the employees, tells Chris and Dustin to get out when he sees them lurking around his office door. He sits down, slips on the headphones and wires in.

It's almost three days before he actually collapses at his desk. His last thought before the world goes fuzzy around the edges is that he hopes he doesn't wake up.

++

He does wake up.

He's lying on his office couch and there's a damp cloth pressed to his pounding forehead. Thorough bleary eyes, Mark sees Dustin and Chris sitting across from him looking nervous and frantic in a way they never have before. "Hey," the words feel heavy in his mouth. He tries to sit up but then Chris is rushing over, pushing him back down.

"No, man, keep it slow. You need to drink some water and try to get some food down. Not enough to make you sick, but you need to have something," Chris insists.

"Don't you ever fucking do that again," Dustin mutters as Mark sits up slowly, reaching out for a bottled water.

Mark just gulps down the water and doesn't answer.

++

He feels a little better after a bottle of water, a bottle of Gatorade, a trip to the restroom that also involves brushing his teeth, a long stretch, and a few peanut butter crackers.

It's been five days since he signed settlement; since he returned to the office, started coding, and then subsequently blacked out.

"You were out for almost two days, fucker," Dustin's voice is a weird mixture of anger and worry.

"Mark," Chris says gently, "I know how hard it was, I mean, I can't imagine how hard it was, but you can't do this to yourself. You can't - it can't be that bad, right?"

And suddenly, in that second, Mark doesn't want to lie anymore. He looks at Chris and Dustin, who have stood beside him through everything, their faces filled with a concern that's obvious even underneath their anger and frustration. He just wants, for the first time in so long, to _tell the truth_.

Lilith never put an onus on him not to talk. She never said he couldn't tell. So what's the worst that could happen?

"I traded Wardo to the Devil for Facebook to succeed." Mark's voice is a monotone. "I thought I was trading my soul, but it was really him ... him and me, I mean. I can't ever tell because she'll - I know you don't believe me but I swear,"

Dustin interrupts, his voice giddy with relief. "God, _of course_ you did. The Devil!  Why didn't I think of it sooner? Finally, a fucking explanation for all this that makes some sense!"

++

And so Mark tells them. He tells them every bit, from the second he looked up and saw Lilith swinging her heels to her last threat in the boardroom.

When it's all over they're both staring at him, open-mouthed. Mark thinks he's prepared for anything. What he doesn't expect is that it will be Chris who yells. Well, screams is really more accurate.

He jumps up from his chair and puts both hands to his head. "Jesus fucking Christ, Mark! Haven't you read the stories?! How am I explaining this to you? Don't eat the gingerbread house in the woods! Don't insult the beggar woman on the side of the road!  AND DON'T OFFER OMINOUS DEALS TO MYSTERIOUS GIRLS YOU MEET AT THE CROSSROADS AT MIDNIGHT! The story has only been around for four hundred years how could you not predict the ending?"

"I - I -" Mark has no defense and he doesn't want to say “I sorta didn't believe she was the Devil and once I figured maybe she was it was too late,” because that seems like the wrong thing to say and lazy to boot.

Then it's like all the fight has gone immediately out of Chris. He sits back down and takes a few deep breathes. Dustin is still pale-faced and looking shell-shocked, both at Chris's outburst and the story as a whole.

"You know," Chris starts, his voice almost soothing, "if anything, this is the perfect argument for why we need better liberal arts education. If you'd spent more time with literature and less time with computers, we could have avoided this next part."

"Next part?" Dustin squeaks.

"Yes, next part. Mark, I think, during this part anyway, the Devil was trying to distract you from realizing the obvious. I think she didn't want you to connect the dots with your deal and breaches of contract and legally binding agreements."

Chris says all this with an entirely straight face and for the first time in so long Mark starts to feel a tiny flutter of something just a little bit like hope.

"No way," Dustin says, shaking his head.

"Yes way," Chris answers. He stares at Mark, his gaze unwavering. "Mark, you better lawyer up, because we're going to sue the Devil."

++

"Did I hear someone call my name?" Lilith's voice is feather-light and teasing.

Mark starts to shake and all the blood drains out of Dustin's face. Only Chris is unmoved. He turns to look at Lilith, back in her heels and short black skirt/red shirt combo. Instead of her short blonde hair, she now has long black ringlets that fall to the middle of her back. She's perched on the edge of Mark's desk, grinning.

"Dustin, turn around and face her. She's not here for you and me, so don't be afraid. Mark, stay calm and do not vomit," Chris voice is steady.

"Ugh," Lilith sighs, yanking at one of her curls and staring at Chris malevolently. "I _hate_ literature majors. They think they know all about me just because they've read some stories. That's not quite true, Mr. Hughes."

"I think I know enough," says Chris, his voice unwavering.

"OK, let's go then. What right have you to speak for Mr. Zuckerberg?" She asks, her tone bored.

"Besides the fact I am one of his best friends -"

"Friends don't count, Mr. Hughes."

" _besides_ that, which I think does count, as I believe that most stories make it clear that there's some account given to those who have people will to plead for mercy on their behalf, the night Mark created FaceMash I offered my services in case of a fallout. I am invoking that offer now."

For the first time since he's met her, Mark sees a less than split-second look of hesitation cross Lilith's face. She sits up straight on the edge of his desk and stops pulling coyly at her hair. She looks like ... she means business, like she's not just playing anymore. Mark can't let himself hope.

"Accepted. Now, what objection do you raise to my legitimate deal with Mr. Zuckerberg?"

Chris looks at Dustin, who is staring at him in awe, and then nods at Mark. "I submit that you had no written contract and -"

"Oral contracts are just as binding, Mr. Hughes."

"While oral contracts _are_ equally binding, I submit that the terms set out in the contract were not clear and, more importantly," Chris pauses and swallows hard, " _you_ , the Devil, were mistaken about a fundamental part of the agreement."

Lilith smiles and shows Chris her razor teeth. His gaze never falters. "Well-done, Mr. Hughes. But, you see, I'm quite rarely mistaken and I understood the fundamentals of this contract just as clearly as Mr. Zuckerberg. You'll just have to take my word for it."

"No," Chris says. "No. I don't have to take your word for it. We - _Mark_ \- demands a trial to settle the matter," he bites his lip, as if searching for the precise wording. "a trial by jury, as is the right of every American citizen."

Lilith's eyes flash red, always a danger sign and she slides off Mark's desk. She stomps her foot once and snarls, "That fucking [Stephen Vincent Benét](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil_and_Daniel_Webster)! I have to stop letting them teach that story in American literature!"

Chris grins from ear to ear. Mark never realized how ... _powerful_ Chris was. This was a guy who could get someone elected President or something.

"And to think they want to cut funding for arts education. Mark, when this is all over, you'd better start working on school reform."

Dustin gives a half-strangled laugh and Mark? Mark might actually be smiling. "What does that even mean?" He asks, leaning in towards Chris.

"We got the trial."

++

"Since I'm a generous soul," Lilith's eyes glint with mischief, "I'll allow for a short preparation time."

Chris, Dustin, and Mark move to the back of Mark's office and huddle together while Lilith drums her fingers on Mark's desktop.

"Chris, I seriously need to know," Dustin's voice is frantic, "are you a wizard or some shit?"

"No, I've just read a lot of books, which can end up meaning the same thing, I guess. Bet you assholes wish you hadn't dropped out now, huh?"

And then they're all kind of actually smiling at each other? Nervously, yes, but smiling - with the devil in the room and everything.

"Look," Chris cuts a quick look at Lilith, "in the story _The Devil and Daniel Webster_ Jabez Stone sells his soul to the Devil, but when the Devil comes to collect, Jabez has the lawyer Daniel Webster there to argue his case. Webster makes the Devil hold a trial, which he claims is Stone's right as an American citizen. I took a guess that Lilith would be bound by that as well. It's really just a big metaphor for the Republic and the treatment of indigenous people is definitely problematic so that mixes with the patriotism theme in an interesting -"

"Can we save the lecture for a time when Satan is not ten feet away?" Dustin breaks in.

"OK, right. Anyway, the Devil selects the jury and the judge, all traitors. Webster begins to argue that -"

"Wait a minute," Dustin says. "Isn't this an episode of _The Simpsons_?"

"Hey, yeah," Mark says. "[The _Treehouse of Horror_ where Homer sells his soul for a donut](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treehouse_of_Horror_IV#The_Devil_and_Homer_Simpson)?"

"FOCUS!" Chris snaps, his voice sharp enough to bring Dustin and Mark to full attention. "This is the Faust legend. It's been around 400 fucking years, OK? What this amounts to is," Chris looks at them both seriously, "we're going to have to trick the Devil."

They watch as Lilith starts waving her hands around Mark's office, transforming it into a courtroom.

"Holy _shit_ , Mark. This is _real_." Dustin's voice is full of awe.

Mark wrings his hands together. In a way, he feels more hopeful than he ever has before. In another way, he feels worse than he's ever felt before. How'd he get Chris and Dustin sucked into this? What if she does something worse to them? To - to Wardo? Chris thinks he knows what she's like but he's only read stories. He shouldn't have done this, no matter how good it feels to have his friends on his side. "Chris," Mark says, his voice shaking, "the last thing a lawyer told me was that all juries would hate me and I was bound to lose. I don't know if this is a really great -"

"Do you have any better ideas, Mark? This is the Devil we're talking about here. She - he - it - WHATEVER - will never let this go. This will never be over. We have to try _something_."

"It should be _me_ ," Mark says, suddenly afraid to meet Chris and Dustin's eyes. "I tried to get her to just take my soul but she -wants to _hurt_ me - I shouldn't have gotten you two involved either, I'm so sorry."

Mark feels Dustin wrap his arm around his shoulders and pull him in for a tight side hug. "Hey, c'mon. We're in this together. You - that deal made us _all_ rich and powerful and - it made us all turn our backs on what was happening with you and Wardo. That - maybe that was part of the Devil magic, maybe not. Either way it was us being bad friends to you _and_ to Wardo. I know Chris and I have both regretted not - saying -" Dustin's voice chokes and he squeezes Mark tighter. "This is our chance to help make this right, Mark. We need it just as much as you do."

When Mark looks up, Chris is pale-faced but nodding in agreement. Mark thinks about when he realized that Sean was working for Lilith without even knowing it. Maybe she'd manage to poison Chris and Dustin in the same way. Regardless: here they were, willing to literally go to hell with him. Mark suddenly feels so fucking grateful for Dustin and Chris he's worried his legs might give out. He wobbles a little, but Dustin holds him upright.

"Well, gentlemen this is all very touching," Lilith voice isn't teasing anymore, it's that razor-sharp voice Mark has come to know too well, "and I hate to break the party up, but I think it's time to get started."

Chris hurriedly comes around Mark's other side and gives him a quick squeeze. "Just ... follow my lead. Follow my lead and, no matter what, _tell the whole truth_."

"Chris," Dustin says right before they turn around. "Chris, what happens to Jabez Stone?"

"Daniel Webster wins," Chris answers, grinning.

And in that moment, with his best friends by his side, Mark lets himself _believe_.

++

"Since you've read the stories," Lilith says as she glares at Chris, her voice spiteful, "you know I'll select the judge and jury."

"Which is completely unfair but, you know, as tradition dictates," Chris motions for Mark and Dustin to come sit with him at the defendant's table. "Are you going to go the classic route and select traitors to the nation? Because that doesn't really make a lot of sense."

"Don't be silly, the judge from the Salem Witchcraft trials will hardly care about Mark. Besides, we're not here for Mr. Zuckerberg's soul, are we? So, it's just your regular old judge and jury of the damned. No one famous or special."

Lilith waves and the jury box fills up with people that seem as real and solid as her. Mark was expecting, like, fiery ghosts or something but this just seems like an episode of _Law and Order_.

"Oh, except, I should mention - everyone on the jury and our judge was a lawyer and they were all damned because they consciously and purposefully betrayed people who loved and trusted them entirely."

"Fuck," Dustin whispered as Chris's mouth turned up into a grimace. Mark felt dizzy.

"Now then," Lilith said, turning to face Mark, Dustin, and Chris, her grin feral, "are we ready?"

"Wait," Chris stands up. "There's one thing before we begin." He looks at Mark almost apologetically.

"Since we _aren't_ here for Mark's soul and the matter of contract law we're disputing involves another party, who I plan to call as a witness and I feel you'll probably have questions for too, I am requesting the presence of Eduardo Saverin, the party in question, at these hearings."

Mark winces. Of course he should have seen this coming, of course he should known it was going to come to this. He's torn between wanting Wardo there so he can finally, _finally_ , hear what happened and being nauseated at the possibility that Lilith will be that close to him. Mark's not worried about his soul, he never has been, but if Lilith corners them, if Lilith _wins_ she might not be happy with just making sure Mark's emotionally wrecked Wardo. She might want _more_ and the thing Mark promised is - is - well, he can't think about that. He's going to do what Chris asked and follow his lead. It's the least Mark can do, since Dustin and Chris are now in this, all the way, with him.

"How delightful!" Lilith replies. "Request granted."

She snaps her fingers and then, sitting in front of them in the witness box, looking more than a little confused, is Wardo.

"What in the -" Wardo starts, looking over Lilith's shoulder at Mark, Dustin, and Chris.

"Greetings, Mr. Saverin," Lilith says, her tone conversational. "I'm the Devil."

"Oh Mark," Wardo says, shaking his head. "What have you done?"

++

"A solid question, Mr. Saverin, please let me explain." Lilith ran her tongue along her lips in a hungry gesture. "Mr. Zuckerberg entered into a binding contract with me. The terms of the contract were that I would give him everything he wanted and the price of this, as dictated by Mr. Zuckerberg himself, was _you_."

Lilith smiled knowingly at the jury, all of whom stared straight ahead, unblinking.

Mark realized that Dustin was pressing down tightly on his left wrist and he wasn't sure why because there was no way Mark could move. He was frozen where he sat with fear and shame. Mark had thought there was no way Wardo could ever look more betrayed than he had the night he found out about the dilution, the night he smashed Mark's computer and had tears of confusion welling up in his eyes. But this look - across the Devil's courtroom in what used to be his office - this was a million times worse.

"Mark - are you saying Mark sold my _soul_?" Eduardo gasped.

"What _is_ it with you people and souls?" Lilith rolled her eyes. "No, of course he couldn't do that Mr. Saverin. He traded his, well, his _connection_ with you. That was the cost of the deal. But we're here this evening because Mr. Zuckerberg is claiming this deal was unfair and now, thanks to Mr. Hughes's liberal arts education, we must have a trial to determine the final verdict. You are here to witness and to act as a witness. Is this all clear?"

"I - I -" Wardo wouldn't stop _staring_ at Mark and Mark couldn't look away.

"Do you doubt I am who I say I am, Mr. Saverin?" Lilith's voice was laced with challenge.

"Um, no. Because five minutes ago I was wide-awake and reading a magazine on an airplane and now I am - uh - here. And, I don't know if you know this but when you're discussing something you, um, particularly _relish_ your eyes flash red. Also - sometimes your teeth are actually razor sharp needles. None of that seems human. And, of course, if anyone was going to figure out a way to make a deal with the Devil, it'd be Mark. So, I'm guessing this is all ... somehow ... real."

"I always knew you were a clever fellow, Mr. Saverin." Lilith turns to look at Mark and he sees the sheer pleasure in her eyes. It makes his skin go clammy with fear and he's suddenly so grateful for the press of Dustin's hand tethering him to the here and now.

Lilith turns back to Wardo. "This is _quite_ real, just like the deal I made with Mark. And my questioning begins with him, so please, have a seat in the galley." She motions to a row of seats behind Mark, Chris, and Dustin and Wardo unsteadily rises to his feet and makes his way across the room. He stops briefly to look at the three of them then proceeds to the first row of seats without a word.

"Mark?" Lilith calls, her voice syrupy, "I call you as my first witness, please approach."

Mark rises. It’s time.

++

"Now Mark," Lilith is leaning casually on the railing around the jury box, as if she couldn't be less interested in this proceeding. "Did you believe I was actually the Devil when you struck this bargain with me?"

"I wasn't really sure. I thought - well," he remembers Chris's admonition: _the whole truth_. "I didn't care if you were really the Devil. I - didn't really think about it."

"So you _knowingly_ took the risk that I might actually be Lucifer, Old Scratch, Satan, Beelzebub and not just a cute. crazy girl with no powers?"

"Yeah, um, yeah, I did."

"In fact, you went ahead and entered into our contract not only _regardless_ of the fact I might be the Devil but because part of you believed I was and you wanted what I was offering?"

"Well, yeah."

"And what, Mark, did you request from me in our contract?"

"I - I asked for - everything I wanted."

"No, actually, what you said was," She pauses here, turns to the jury and snaps her fingers. Mark's voice, echoing as if from a recording reels off his words verbatim. _'You already know everything I want. I want all that. I want success beyond my wildest dreams'._ " Lilith turns to face Mark again. "So, Mark do you think I fulfilled _my_ contractual agreement? Are you successful beyond your wildest dreams, exactly as you requested?"

"Yes, but it wasn't all -"

"It was a yes or no question, thank you."

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury," Lilith turns again to address the unblinking crowd, her posture still relaxed, "I submit to you that Mr. Zuckerberg clearly and fully understood the fundamentals of the contract he was entering into and with whom and thus his complaint against me is baseless and should be rejected."

She dipped into a low curtsy, a mocking gesture of humbleness, then rose to her full height and turned to Chris. "Your witness."

++

Chris walks towards him slowly. "Mark, Lilith told us what it was that you asked for, but she didn't mention what it was you promised her. What did you offer up? Was it Eduardo? Did you say Eduardo?"

"No. No, I'd _never_ \- I - I _meant_ my soul, I thought, everyone thinks, that's what the Devil wants, you know? What I offered her, I mean, what I told her was that I would trade the thing I valued most in the world," and he's trying to just tell the truth and keep his voice neutral but there, he just admitted it and his voice shakes a little and he's staring at Wardo, a pleading look on his face, and Wardo, upon hearing that, his face crumbles a little and he pinches the bridge of his nose and looks down.

Mark continues. "That's _exactly_ what I said - but - I would _never_ \- I just didn't think that was -" Mark stares at Wardo, a pleading look on his face.

"So when Lilith came back and you understood what she was asking you to do, did you agree?"

"No. That was never what I agreed to, I thought it was just my soul. I told her - I offered her my soul, I told her to take Facebook back or make it fail, I told her I'd do -"

"Objection, your honor, relevance," Lilith stands. "We're just establishing Mark didn't want to live up to his end of the contract, that's not relevant."

"Goes to establishing the clarity of terms, your honor," says Chris.

There's a moment of silence. "Objection overruled, please continue."

"So, Mark just to be clear: you had no idea that the terms of the contract involved you severing ties with Eduardo?"

"No. I wouldn't have made the deal - and - and - anyway, she didn't tell you everything I asked for."

Mark can practically see the internal wheels spinning in Chris's head. He wasn't expecting this Mark knows when he nods his head he's decided to try to make it work.

"What did you ask for?"

"The all that - she played that part but - I said if she really _was_ the Devil she'd be able to read my mind and know _everything_ I wanted. That's what I meant when I told her I wanted 'all that.'"

"And what did the 'everything' you asked for include?"

Mark will not vomit again. He will not. He's just going to say it.

"Everything - when I said everything, I was thinking of - Wardo. Um, Eduardo. Eduardo was part of everything. I - meant him." Mark looks down at his hands, back up and right past Chris, right past Lilith, finding Wardo's gaze. Wardo's staring back again, his eyes wide.

Mark swallows hard and says the last part loudly, matter-of-factly. "I wanted Wardo."

++

"So, Mark, is it your testimony that not only did you not understand what the terms of the contract were but that Lilith then failed to live up to her end of the contractual agreement?"

And this, this is the worst part. The worst part of _all_ of it, maybe. Having to say that he'd considered Wardo was part of the deal.

"Yes," Mark whispers.

"Your honor, I have no further questions."

Chris is nodding at him reassuringly and Mark sees Eduardo has leaned forward and is clutching the rail in front of the his row in the galley, practically climbing over the low wall. Dustin, while still seated at their defense table, has slide over so he's right next to where Wardo is and he has his hand over one of Wardo's. Chris returns to their table, sits on the other side of Wardo and reaches out to grab his other hand. Mark watches, thinks of Dustin and Chris holding him up before the trial started and he feels so fucking grateful for his friends.

Lilith rises. "Rebuttal."

The stone-faced judge nods.

"Mark, and this is a yes or no question, did you agree that you would give me the thing you valued most in the world?"

"Yes."

"So, Mark, what was _that_? Was it Facebook's success? Was it money? Was it respect from guys like Sean Parker and the Winklevoss twins? Was it being recognized as visionary? Was it fame? Was it _any_ of that?"

"No."

"What was it?"

"I didn't know at the time, I didn't think -"

"Mark," Lilith says, her voice still mocking and pleasant, "what was it? What was the thing you valued the most in the world?"

Mark gulps. "It was - being with - it was having someone who - it was Eduardo."

Eduardo makes a loud noise that's half-way between a gasp and a sob.

Lilith nods smugly. "Indeed. No further questions, your honor."

++

"You may step down," the judge says without moving his head or looking at Mark. "Defense, call your first witness."

As Mark is standing Chris says, his voice firm and sure, "The defense calls Eduardo Saverin."

Eduardo, still looking shell-shocked and wrecked, stands from the galley and makes his way to the witness stand. Mark realizes there will be a split-second where they pass, Eduardo on his way to the stand, Mark on his way to the defense table. He's afraid to move, afraid for that to happen, but knows he can't stay where he is. He walks forward, shame burning in his stomach.

Eduardo is staring straight ahead and Mark holds his breath as they pass but then - then he feels it.

Eduardo, in the briefest of passing moments, reaches out and brushes his fingers, feather-light, across Mark's.

It's the first time they've touched in - in - in so long Mark can't remember. Eduardo doesn't even turn his head to look at him or acknowledge his presence at all as he heads for the stand. But. But _he touched him_. Eduardo reached out and touched him.

No matter what comes next, this alone was more than Mark ever dared hope for. Maybe - maybe -

But before he can be brave enough to finish the thought, Eduardo is settling in the witness stand and Mark finds himself sitting next to Dustin who is back to patting his shoulder reassuringly. Chris nods at him once, with a conviction no one on earth can match, then stands to begin questioning.

++

"Eduardo, the only thing we must require for these proceedings is - please, however embarrassing or awkward it _seems_ , you must tell _the whole truth_. Besides the fact it's critical to Mark's - to - the defense, she'll know if you don't." Chris points at Lilith who is sitting at her table with her hands folded neatly in front of her. She smiles sweetly and nods her head, never taking her hungry gaze off Eduardo.

"I - I can promise to do that," Eduardo says, his voice now trembling.

"Eduardo, I only have a few very simple questions for you," Chris begins, sparing at look at the jury, who still seem to be staring right through him. Mark shifts uncomfortably in his chair. A _few_ questions? All this for a few simple questions? That doesn't seem right. But - but Chris must have a plan. Dustin squeezes his shoulder as if to reassure him. Mark must believe Chris has a plan.

Eduardo nervously licks his lips. "Yes, yeah, OK."

"Eduardo did you _ever_ have _any_ involvement or anything to do with _any_ part of this deal between Mr. Zuckerberg and Lilith?"

Eduardo sits straight up, looks over at the jury with fire in his eyes, seemingly uncaring that they aren't even acknowledging his existence. Then he moves his gaze to Lilith and his face goes tight with anger. " _No_ ," he snarls. "absolutely not."

Lilith, her mouth turned into a frown, stands. "Objection your honor, what Mr. Saverin did or did not know is completely irrelevant as this is -"

"Your honor, a little leeway. Let me finish the question and the relevance will become clear," Chris interrupts.

Mark doesn't think they have the kind of judge who allows for leeway but then in a low and rumbly voice he intones, "Very little leeway. Continue."

"So, Eduardo, if you never knew anything about this deal or the terms of the deal, why did become involved with Mr. Zuckerberg?"

And there it is - the one question Mark _never_ thought to ask. The one question Mark thought he'd had the answer to all along, from the morning his phone rang and Erica was on the other end. _Because she_ made _him, because she used magic to make him want me and love me because he never had a choice and because I_ made a deal with the Devil herself _to have him and I wanted him and loved him so fucking much I didn't even care if it cost my soul._

It never occurred to Mark the answer might be any different.

++

Eduardo's face suddenly relaxes and he gives Chris a slight half smile. It's as if he _understands_ now, as if he suddenly knows what Chris is trying to do. Mark still hasn't the slightest idea. Eduardo turns to look at the jury and then gives Lilith one quick look that somehow combines contempt and pity. Then he answers, his voice steady.

"Because I loved him. I loved him from the first time I brought him a sandwich after he'd gone two days without eating and he sighed like it was gourmet food. I loved him from the time I tried to talk him out of flirting with this girl who had a huge boyfriend who rowed crew but he was so sure of himself he did it anyway and we ended up running out of the party. I loved him from the first time he got drunk and called me 'Wardo' and then kept calling me that the next morning sober. I loved him from the first time he looked up after a marathon of coding and saw me curled up on his bed and smiled and said, his voice proud and happy, 'Wardo, wanna hear about what I hacked?' I loved him all along, I loved him from the start, no matter what, and I would have done anything for him and _none_ of that," Eduardo paused, looked again at the jury and then towards Lilith, "had _anything_ to do with any deal with the Devil."

It was then, as if for the first time, the jury _looked_ , the jury _saw_. They were no longer staring blankly ahead, seemingly unaware of everything around them. Now, their eyes filled with light, now heads turned and cocked to the side the jury seemed to be listening and looking. They seemed to be _alive_ again.

Chris noted the change and seized the moment. "Your honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury," Chris says, his voice pleading and yet firm, "I contend that not only was Mark unclear about the terms of the contract but it was, by default, null and void, as Mark, although he was unaware of it, didn't need to make a deal with the Devil as he _already had_ the thing he valued the most in the world."

That was when Mark realized he was crying.

++

"Objection! Objection!" Lilith thunders. She slams her hands down on the table so hard the floor shakes. Her voice no longer sounds quite human, it has a guttural edge to it now. "None of this is relevant. This is a hearing to determine what Mr. Zuckeberg, in good faith, _thought_ he was trading for. It's not about -"

Chris interrupts, his voice shaking, just a little, for the first time. "It's not about the truth? The truth is, you can't sell the Brooklyn Bridge if you don't own it! The truth is, Mark couldn't make a deal to trade for something he already possessed! The truth is, you didn't ever control Eduardo's feelings, as he's made so abundantly clear, so you were entering into a contract you could not fulfill. How can this not be about the law, about the _truth_?" Chris's voice is thunderous now and he's directly addressing the jury, all of whom are looking at him intently.

Before anyone can react, even Lilith, Dustin stands and is clapping.

"Order," the judge says, pounding a gavel, "Order."

Dustin and Lilith both sit down, reluctantly, and Chris returns to his seat too.

Mark just wipes the tears from his eyes and looks towards Eduardo, still sitting in the witness stand. Eduardo is looking right back and their eyes lock. Eduardo nods his head and holds Mark's gaze. His eyes are full of concern and _truth_ and, yeah, even an tiny bit of that familiar _Mark, just calm down for a second, OK?_ soothing reassurance.

Mark thinks this look, this held gaze, this nod, these might be the only things keeping him in his chair, keeping him from leaping across the table and running towards Eduardo, judge and hellfire be damned.

++

“Does the defense have any further questions for this witness?” The judge’s voice breaks the sudden silence.

Chris rises. “Yes, your honor, thank you.”

He walks towards the witness stand. “I’m – I’m really sorry for this part, Wardo,” he begins, his voice soft. “But this is  _very_  important. Do you – do you still love Mark?” 

It’s like the ground has dropped out from under him, like Lilith has made everything vanish. Mark can’t breathe, he can’t think. 

“Yes. I do, yes.” Eduardo is unblinking, unafraid. “He’s – he can be an asshole and he can be selfish and he was clueless and he made this stupid deal but – well, we’re all clueless and selfish assholes sometimes. He’s – he’s still the most brilliant person I’ve ever known, he still makes  _me_  want to be brilliant too, he still came to  _me_  for help first…he’s still  _Mark_. I … I made mistakes too. I was jealous, I didn’t speak up, I acted out of pettiness. I hope Mark can forgive me for that, I know I’ve forgiven him.

And nothing, not even the fact that the Devil is sitting no less than ten feet away from him, can stop Mark from standing up now. 

“Wardo,” he bursts out, his voice sounds so loud in his ears, “Wardo, of course, of course I do and – I want – I ”

“Shut  _up_ ,” Lilith shrieks, her voice am unearthly, piercing wail that make Mark’s ears ring. “You have  _no right_  to speak to him that way! The verdict hasn’t been handed down yet, you’re still bound by our agreement! Don’t try my patience, boy!” 

Then Dustin is forcibly yanking him down, pulling at him with both hands, his voice an angry whisper, “Mark, c’mon, keep it together, don’t fuck this up now.”

There’s the banging of the gavel again and the judge calling for order but it’s all white noise and irrelevant to Mark because  _yes, I do yes_. 

Mark hears Chris’s voice as if from a great distance. “Thank you, Wardo. Thank you  _so_  much. No further questions, your honor.”

Lilith stands, is composed again. She looks at the judge and the jury, all of whom are now in rapt attention. “Your honor, I move that all of Mr. Saverin’s testimony be stricken from the record as it is irrelevant and prejudicial.” 

“Overruled,” the judge says tonelessly. “Do you have any questions for this witness?”

“I … I...” Lilith glares at Wardo with a look that makes Mark’s skin feel clammy but Wardo keeps his chin tilted, defiantly, meets her eyes (which Mark suspects are currently flashing and red) and doesn’t look away. “no questions, your honor.”

“The witness may step down.” Wardo exits the witness stand and hurries back towards the galley, sitting behind Mark without a word or glance his way. Mark knows this means Wardo’s still playing by the rules. 

The judge continues, “If the defense has nothing further?”

“The defense rests, your honor,” Chris says.

“Then the prosecution may begin their closing arguments.”

Lilith smoothes her hair behind her ear, takes a deep breathe, and stands to address the jury, a radiant, reassured smile stretching across her face.

++

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury: my case is simple and these men,” she motions to the defense table, “have tried to make you think it’s complicated. It’s not. I have shown that Mark Zuckerberg suspected or didn’t care that I was truly the Devil and he went ahead with our deal any way, proving he understood the contract. Further, I have shown that he himself agreed to give me the thing the valued the most in the world and that Mr. Saverin was said thing. You heard him admit to this himself several times. Comparatively speaking, I am being generous and only demanding that they sever all contact. I could have claimed a much higher price.”

At this she turned and pointed right at Eduardo. She turned back to the jury, smiling still.

“But that _is_ the price I require for fulfilling my part of this contract, which you heard was the success Mr. Zuckeberg craved. These are the simple facts, entered into the record by the defense’s own witnesses. Don’t make something simple complicated. You must uphold this contract as is law and is right. Thank you.”

There were no faux-curtseys this time, Lilith merely nodded her head, business-like and efficient and returned to her table.

It was Chris’s turn.

Mark turned to him, noticed that, at last, Chris was starting to look slightly pale and shaky. It was his turn, then.

“Hey,” Mark says, “thank you, Chris. Thank you for all of this, for everything. You … are absolutely amazing. But I think I need to – I want to do this. Can I?”

Chris grins at him, Mark sees Dustin nodding and Eduardo looking at his hands, fighting a smile. “Dunno what the judge will say. But you can try.”

Mark stands. “Your honor, I request the right to deliver my own closing statement.”

Both of them wait for Lilith to object, but she just snorts lightly. “No objections your honor, this should be _delightful_.”

“I will allow a moment for you to prepare,” The judge’s voice is still flat.

Now Chris stands up next to Mark. His face is alight with an expression that Mark recognizes as being one of pure inspiration. “Your honor, the defense requests a copy of the story _The Devil and Daniel Webster_ by Stephen Vincent Benet. We … we need it for legal precedent in this case and…and in regards to our closing arguments.”

“Any objections from the prosecution?”

Lilith rolls her eyes. “God, you lit majors are so boring. Whatever.” She snaps her fingers and a book appears on their table.

Chris reaches for it, flips towards the end. When he finds the passage he wants he reads it just loud enough for the four of them, who have pulled as close together as they dare, to hear.

 _“He admitted all the wrong that had ever been done. But he showed how, out of the wrong and the right, the suffering and the starvations, something new had come. And everybody had played a part in it, even the traitors. … He was telling the story and the failures and the endless journey of mankind. They got tricked and trapped and bamboozled, but it was a great journey. And no demon that was ever foaled could know the inwardness of it – it took a man to do that._ ”

Chris closes the book and looks up. The four of them exchange a look of unity and understanding that makes Mark feel like he is back in Kirkland so many nights ago.

“Be that guy, Mark, tell _that_ story,” Chris says.

“You can do it, Mark,” Dustin chimes in.

And, in a voice so light it’s not even a whisper, Eduardo says, “Querido.”

Mark stands. He’s ready.

++

"I'm an asshole," Mark begins, coming right up to the jury and placing his hands on the rail surrounding the jury box, leaning in to scan their now animate faces.

"If there's one thing I think everyone in the courtroom would stipulate, it's that I'm an asshole. I'm not going to try to argue my way out of that or try to trick you about it. I was a jerk and I was afraid and I did something very stupid and - I - _wanted_ too much. But," he pauses, takes time to make eye contact with all twelve jurors, one by one, "haven't we _all_ felt that way? Haven't we all _wanted_ something so much we feel like we'd do _anything_ to have it? Maybe what you want is something huge: to change the world, to make a difference. Or maybe you've felt the sharp pang of wanting over something simple: like an ice-cold glass of water on a hot day or for your favorite team to win the big game. We've all wanted, haven't we? You remember what that feels like, don't you, to want something so bad you _ache_ for it? Well, what I wanted was -" Mark takes a steadying breath.

( _say it, say it, say it_ , his mind screams.) He turns from the jury and looks over and Eduardo. He is perfectly still and schooling his face into blankness but Mark sees, he knows he does, his eyes lingering.

"What I wanted, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, was that man," Mark holds a shaky hand out towards where Wardo is sitting. "What I wanted was Eduardo Saverin. And, yeah, I did stupid things because of that wanting because, well, that's what you sometimes do when you - when you love someone, when you want them and you think you'll never have a chance with them. Stupid things, mean things, selfish things, thoughtless things - yeah, I did all that. And more probably too. But that's part of wanting, of being alive, of being human. And I think that I know now that maybe ... maybe it's part of loving someone too."

Mark folds his hands in front of him, steps back from the jury box and turns to face Lilith. For the first time since he looked up and saw her hiding coyly in a tree and he realized her powers were real, that she was real, Mark doesn't feel afraid of Lilith anymore. He wants her to see his face, he wants her to know.

She seems to sense this and, with a quirk of her mouth, she changes her eyes. They're not ice blue or even flashing red anymore. Now, her eyes are brown, shiny with tears, and full of confusion and betrayal. They're...Eduardo's eyes, his eyes the moment he walked smashed Mark's laptop and said, anguished _"It's gonna be like I'm not a part of Facebook!"_

And Mark, for a second, Mark is rattled. But...that's not what Wardo's eyes look like _now_. That's not what they looked like a second ago, what they looked like when he said he loved him, loved him then and loved him still.

Mark spent a long time thinking that everything that happened, everything good that happened, was because of meeting Lilith at the crossroads and a their deal. But he knows now that wasn't true. He made Facebook happen: him, Wardo, Chris, and Dustin. It wasn’t magic or spells, it was their hard work and determination. It's as simple as this: not everything was Lilith's which means not everything has to be Lilith's either.

Those aren't Wardo's eyes. That's _the Devil_ , trying to pull a trick on him.

And Mark's not going to be tricked any more.

++

Mark turns his back on Lilith, faces the jury again, takes a deep breath and tells the scariest part of all.

"And the thing is - the thing no one knows is - ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the night Lilith came to me and told me what she was demanding, told me what I was going to have to do to fulfill my end of the deal? That really was the worst night of my life but the thing is: as she told me her plan, I could see how it might happen _exactly_ like she was saying, even if she'd never been there at all. I really could. And I guess, for a long time, I thought that made me the biggest asshole on the planet. Yeah, it could have happened like that. I could have - I _could_ have pushed Eduardo out and pushed him away, shut him out, screwed him over. I could have been that guy because part of me, the part of me that _wants_ so much, _is_ that guy."

Mark stops for a second, turns to let the jury puzzle all that out and, more importantly, to catch Eduardo's eyes again. At this revelation Dustin and Chris have both gone chalky-white and look nervous. But Eduardo's gaze is still steady. Mark wills him to keep listening, to hold on. He turns back to the jury.

"But that's the _human_ part of me. And what all that means? What that means that the Devil didn't control everything, the Devil didn't _make_ all of this happen. The good, the bad - I made it happen. Eduardo made it happen: Mark, Chris, Dustin, Christy Lee, Sean Parker, Erica Albright - a thousand, million people more, _we_ made it happen - not the Devil. Lilith didn't make me an asshole. I just am one, sometimes. But I'm kind sometimes too, I think. I can be funny and loyal and brilliant and _good_. And I loved Eduardo Saverin all on my own. And, all on his own, he loved me back."

One last shaky breath and Mark is ready to finish.

" _That_ had nothing to do with anything or anyone else. And Lilith lied to me when she pretended otherwise and when she presented the terms of our contract. And that means it really _is_ as simple as she says: our contract null and void because of said misrepresentation."

He makes eye contact one last time with all 12 members of the jury and then says, quietly, "Thank you."

He returns to his seat, sits down between Dustin and Chris (who are now beaming at him) and leans back into his chair so that he's just inches away from where Eduardo is leaning forward.

His ears were still ringing with his speech, and he didn't hear anything else till he heard the judge say, "The jury will retire to consider its verdict."

Without a second’s hesitation a woman in a pale, blue dress rose in her place and her face had a dark pride on it.  "The jury has considered its verdict," she said and looked Lilith full in the eye.

" _No_ ," Mark thought, wildly.  " _They didn't any time at all to consider.  This can't be fair - this can't be_ right!"  But before he could even open his mouth to object, the woman continued.

"We find for the defendant, Mark Zuckerberg."

With that, the smile left Lilith's face, but the woman in blue did not flinch.

"Perhaps 'tis not strictly in accordance with the evidence," she said, "but even the damned may salute the eloquence of Mr. Hughes and Mr. Zuckerberg and, of course, the love between Mr. Zuckerberg and Mr. Saverin."

Everything went white around the field of his vision and Mark thought he might be dreaming or passed out or - he heard, as if from a great distance, what he thought was the sound of a rooster crowing and before he could blink, the courtroom, the jury, and the judge all vanished.  He, Dustin, Chris, Eduardo, and Lilith were all back in his office. 

Mark couldn't make words form in his head, couldn't accept that this had happened, that this was real that this was - _over_?

He heard Chris say, his voice shocked, "It - we - it worked."

Dustin, meanwhile, was enthusiastically pumping his fist and even hopping up and down. He blurted out, with glee, "Boo-yah, baby!  The Facebook Four just pwned THE DEVIL!"

Then there was a soft voice, so close to his ear, a whisper from right behind him. "Oh my _God_ ," Wardo said, his tone full of gentle wonder. 

With those words, Mark felt the familiar press of Wardo's hand at the small of his back.

And he cried.

++

In that second, the reality of it all rushed in and Mark took a few ragged breaths, wiping at his tears. Wardo was pressing in even closer to him, running his hand reassuringly up and down his back.  Dustin was still bouncing up and down and doing a nerdy little dance and Chris, eyes as wide as dinner plates, was standing with a dazed, happy expression in his face. 

Mark was trying not to be afraid of what Lilith might do, but as she turned to face the four of them, Mark felt a rush of panic. 

But Lilith had a wry smile on her face.  "I've really got to learn to do a better job with jury selection, I suppose.  Nevertheless, my congratulations."

She held her hand out, first to Chris, but Mark saw he still had something clutched in his hand.  It was the copy of _The Devil and Daniel Webster_ that Lilith had made appear and, somehow, Chris had held onto it when she made everything else vanish.

Hands shaking, Chris recites, as if from memory, “We need – we need the paper.  I mean, a copy of the contract.”

Lilith’s eyes, blue again, twinkle.  “But it was only an oral agreement, remember Mr. Hughes?”

Chris’s face grows thoughtful but before he can say anything, Eduardo pushes forward, past Mark, towards Lilith.

“Make a written copy of it.  Snap your fingers, whatever.  We want to _see_ it.” His tone is cold.

Lilith smirks.  “I like the aggression, _Wardo_ , it looks good on you,” she teases, shaking a finger at them.

Without hesitation, Wardo moves towards her and, in a flash, grabs her arm and twists it around her back.  Lilith makes a hissing noise that sounds more like anger than pain, but that only makes Wardo yank harder.

“First, you will address me by my given name, Eduardo Saverin.” He twists Lilith’s arm, making her shriek again. “Second, I was an econ major but I read books, so I know how this story goes; how this story has always gone.  I know the ending.  You have no more power here, we won in a fair fight.  So, produce a contract so that we can tear it up.”

Suddenly, Lilith held a piece of paper in her free hand.  She waved it above her head.  Chris reached out and snatched it from her while Wardo kept a tight grip on her.  Chris held the paper out to Mark.

Mark reached out for the paper, hands shaking in disbelief, and thought of the night he met Lilith at the crossroads.  It seemed like another lifetime.  But now here he was, ready to finish the worst mistake of his life. 

He tore it up.

++

“Wardo,” Chris asked as the pieces of the contract fell to the ground and vanished, “do you remember what happens next?”

“I do,” Wardo said.  “And so does she,” he shook Lilith slightly and released her arm just a little.  “Write out that you’ll never bother Mark or any of us again.”

Lilith sighed with disgust.  “Bah,” she said.  “Why couldn’t you two just have used SparkNotes?”

With another wave of her hand a new piece of paper appeared.  Before Chris or Mark could move forward, Dustin grabbed it from her hand.  “I’ll keep this one,” he said, proudly.

“And, now, may I go?”  Lilith asked, still in Wardo’s grip.

Chris turned to Mark.  “In the story she tells Daniel Webster his future now.  This really is when it becomes a metaphor for the Civil War and the state of the union and how Webster’s era understood the union in a  -”

“ _Still_ not time for a lecture, professor,” Dustin interrupted.

“I could do that,” Lilith said, her voice honey-sweet.  “Because you both argued against me, it could be either Chris or Mark.  I could share your futures – what will happen with Facebook and Chris’s soon to be political career and your families and – ”

“No,” Mark shook his head and walked over to where Wardo held onto Lilith.  “Just let her go.  Just make her go.  We don’t want – we don’t need…”

He looked her straight in the eyes.  “We don’t need your help and we don’t need your insight.  We’re going to _make_ the future.  The future is _ours_ , this life is _ours_.  It always was.  You don’t have anything to tell us or offer us.  All you can do is,” he looked away from her, as if she wasn’t there at all, and at Wardo, who was staring at him with unabashed adoration. “ _go to hell_.”

Mark snapped his fingers and Lilith, in a flash, disappeared.

++

Then the four of them are standing in Mark’s office, staring at each other.  Chris is still clutching the book in his hands.  He looks down at it with wonder and then opens it, carefully.  He breaks out in a big smile.  “Look,” he says, holding the book out towards Mark, Dustin, and Wardo.

Mark reads the inscription, written in clear, firm script:

 _Mr. Hughes,_

 _Congratulations on a job well done.  Thank you for defending the spirit of the work and appreciating the importance of story. We couldn’t be prouder._

 _Your colleagues in HOPE,_

 _-Daniel Webster, Esq.  
-Stephen Vincent _Benét, author__

 “Holy shit,” Dustin says, giggling.

"I wonder what the hope part is all about," Wardo says.

"Dunno," Chris say, marvel in his voice, "but I think it'd make a good campaign slogan."

As Chris closes the book reverently, Mark swallows hard and knows what he has to say next.

"I - I just want to thank you.  All three of you, I mean for - for - helping me and sticking with me and believing ... even when I, when I didn't always deserve - I can't thank you enough for -"

"Hey, that's what friends are for," Dustin says, and his voice is entirely serious, "to hell and back, Mark.  Hell and back."

And Mark doesn’t have to look to know that Chris and Wardo are nodding in agreement and he feels like he is – knows that he is – the luckiest fucker on the planet.

++

Shortly after that, Chris makes up a very flimsy excuse (“ _We’ve got to go – this book is a valuable asset and Dustin has that super important Devil-Contract we’d better get locked up and, hey, maybe we can get dinner or something, great, bye!”)_ and drags Dustin out of _Mark’s_ office.

Then it’s just him and Wardo, staring at each other.  Mark’s unsure where to even begin.

Before he can say anything Wardo says, “The future – that life – _ours_ , huh?”

Mark can hear his heart hammering so loudly it’s practically deafening.  “Ours if you want.”

“I want.  I always - I _want_ ,” Wardo answers, opening his arms.

They are kissing, kissing like they did that first night all those years ago in Kirkland, kissing like they have never kissed before, kissing like Mark wants them to kiss for the rest of their lives. 

When they pull apart, Mark presses his forehead to Wardo’s and revels in the moment he never thought he’d have again – in the small smile playing around Wardo’s mouth and his heavy-lidded gaze of wanting. 

Mark echoes Wardo’s words from their first night, whispering to him, "So long - I've been waiting so _fucking_ long for this."

Wardo laughs, a happy exhale near Mark’s ear.  The words spill out of him in a rush.  “It won’t be easy – I – I can’t pretend none of it happened, even knowing what I know.  I meant what I said, and I do love you, I _do_ , but it won’t be that easy and I just want you to know that, to know – ” 

Mark stops the nervous stream of chatter with a quick kiss to Wardo’s mouth.  “I love you too.  I love you and I know it won’t be easy but I don’t care.  I risked it all for this, for us, for you, and it was _worth_ it – because at least we know the truth now and can face it honestly and – ”

Now it’s Wardo’s turn to lean in and cut Mark off with a kiss.  “Yes,” he says, his voice rich with promise, “you know what they say: better the devil you know.”

And Mark knows now that the sound of his and Wardo’s shared laughter, joyous, full of great expectations, and murmured between kisses, is the thing he values most in the whole world.

And he wouldn’t trade it for anything.                                                                             

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for a prompt in the tsn_kinkmeme for jerakeen who wanted the idea Mark made a deal with the Devil for Facebook to succeed but when the time came, they asked him to give up Eduardo instead of his soul. I thought, _"Well, I can't write that because I never do supernatural stuff and I have no idea wtf I am doing and -"_ and here we are, 17,000+ words later.
> 
> This story was clearly inspired by the classic Faust legend, but from there I went off to a specific version of it. So, this piece OBVIOUSLY owes a great (spoilery!) debt to Stephen Vincent Benet's classic story [_The Devil and Daniel Webster_](http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0602901h.html), which is quoted here. As you'll see, I deliberately used some of Benet's exact phrasing. For anyone curious, I've never seen an episode of _Supernatural_ and Lilith is entirely my own creation, but I guess she reminds some people of a character/plot on the show, which is cool if that fandom-ly works for you! :) Thanks to everyone for the love in the meme as this spiraled out of my control and I felt out of my depth: your encouragement kept me writing and I can't thank you enough for it!


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